I have never been to Indonesia but have been negotiating for a teaching opportunity at Thames Business School. Could you PLEASE give me any iofo. related to this school? AND
1. Is 24 hours teaching per week ok and how much do I have to ask in return to live okey in Pekanbaru?
2. What can be the living conditions for a 32 yrs old female?
3.What should I look for in the contract?
4.Do I need to be a ntional of a specific country to get the work permit to teach?

Take a look at the job journals - they are very helpful and offer a lot of answers.

1) 24 is full-time. You'll need to put in a lot of extra hours for lesson prep, marking, placement interviews, etc. I teach about 22 hours a week, but work maybe 45 hours a week; expect to work almost as many hours outside the classroom as inside.
2) About the same as for a 32 year old male: you should be earning enough to live in modest comfort. I earn about 8 million Rp, and spend about half that per month. I bank the rest and wire it to my home bank every 3 months.
3) hours per week, health care, housing arrangements, sick and holiday leave, plane ticket home, early contract ending, etc. etc. etc. Take a look at the daily journals...
4) Indonesia will only grant teaching work visas to nationals from countries where English is the spoken language: USA, UK, Canada, Aus, NZ>>>>

I will be teaching business related courses (not english language) do I still need to have passport from these countries? As the employer says my passport is ok even though it is not UK, USA, Ireland......etc.

Have you heard about thames business school or do u know where I can learn about it?

And one last thing, isi it possible to get the work permit before coming to Indonesia or do I have to be there?

I will be teaching business related courses (not english language) do I still need to have passport from these countries? As the employer says my passport is ok even though it is not UK, USA, Ireland......etc.

The employer would know better than me. I was under the impression that only someone from a "native speaker" country could get a teaching visa - but what do I know? Maybe the school knows the right people to bribe...

derya wrote:

And one last thing, isi it possible to get the work permit before coming to Indonesia or do I have to be there?

I can only tell you that it is possible for folks in Canada, Englandn and Australia. I went to my local Indo consulate and found out who my school needed to contact. The school then faxed a letter from Indo Immigration to the consulate, and a few days later I went to the consulate and had the visa put in my passport.

However, it sounds like the more common course is for the teacher to come to Indo on a tourist visa, sign a contract with the school, and then make a day trip to Singapore to file the visa paperwork.

I suggest you contact the school and ask for the details as to how they want to handle it. I have *heard* of that school - but know little about them, good or bad.

out of curiousity, how long have u been in Indonesia (Jakarta?) and how do u like it?

I have been teaching in Jakarta for about 9 months now. I like my school, and I find my time in Indonesia to be, er, interesting. When I have a chance to travel away from Jakarta I enjoy Indonesia - but I hate Jakarta itself. It's a filthy, crowded urban rathole.

Hi Derya,
I'm a 29 yr old female and I've been living in Surabaya since Sept 2001. I've never been to Jakarta, (is that where Pekanbaru is? Never heard of it before sorry) except for the airport. IS650 has answered your questions pretty fully but if you have any specific questions on general living in Indonesia please feel free to PM me for a female perspective.
Take care